Getting Product Ideas Past Stage One

"Ideate" is the first stage in the product development cycle; it's a time when product strategists gather ideas for new and innovative products and services. Before moving on to subsequent phases, product strategists must validate those ideas and prove that they warrant further investment. The validation process is a critical juncture in the product development process because approved projects move closer to the "develop" stage, where they consume significant resources. These early stages are sometimes referred to as the "fuzzy front end" of the new product development process. With clear ideation and validation processes in place, product strategists can help ensure that they unearth great, innovative ideas and translate them into successful products — and that they don't waste development resources on poor and unworthy ideas.